


What I Do, I Do For You

by HallowedNight



Series: Newmann One-Shots [4]
Category: Pacific Rim
Genre: Hermann is a little bit oblivious, I'm horridly bad at tags, M/M, Newt is irritated, Post-Movie, just read the summary
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-25
Updated: 2014-07-25
Packaged: 2018-02-10 09:59:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2020815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HallowedNight/pseuds/HallowedNight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Newt discovers Hermann's scathing review of his new article, he tries not to be upset. He likes to think he gets a gold star for effort, at least.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Hermann actually has reasons for doing what he does. Imagine that?</p>
            </blockquote>





	What I Do, I Do For You

**Author's Note:**

> Just another Tumblr story. Less Newmann, but it's sort of there.

“Hermann.”

The mathematician in question frowned and kept his eyes plastered on the tablet before him.

“Hermann, hey.”

“I’m busy, Newton.”

“But this is important.”

Finally giving in, Hermann glanced in Newton’s direction, completely prepared to chew him out until he saw the man peeking at him from above the newest issue of _The Journal of Experimental Biology_. (How the man got a paper copy, Hermann would never know.) His stomach dropped, and he felt the back of his neck slowly begin to heat before Newton even opened his mouth.

“Did you review my new article?” The biologist slapped the journal onto his lap, gazing at Hermann with a painful-looking mix of hope, anger and betrayal.

“Ah, well-”

“Oh my god, _you did_. Hermann! Why would you give it a _bad review_? That’s _so not cool_ that I don’t even-” Newt began waving his arms around randomly, his face growing redder by the second as he tried (and utterly failed) to articulate his feelings about Hermann’s apparent betrayal. “ _We saved the world together, man!_ ” he all but shrieked, chucking the journal across the room as he pushed himself from his chair and began to pace.

Hermann rolled his eyes. “Yes, we did. And do you remember how we agreed that our work would remain separate from our personal lives?”

Newt glared at the mathematician for a moment, spluttering, before appearing to shut down. He shrugged. “Yeah, that’s true. It’s whatever then, I get it.”

“Good,” Hermann said definitively as he turned back to his calculations, assuming the issue was resolved.

He was wrong.

He was so wrong, in fact, that Hermann might rate it as one of his greatest lapses of judgment to date.

This became apparent that evening when Hermann was fastidiously cleaning the kitchen while Newton fiddled around on his own tablet, feet propped on the table Hermann had _just disinfected_. Slapping the biologist’s feet to the floor, Hermann scowled darkly. “I don’t know why I agreed to share an apartment with you.”

“Yeah, me either,” said Newt suspiciously nonchalantly, “considering you apparently think my work is ‘a ridiculous mishmash of unproven scientific theories no more prevalent in today’s society than the infamous and obsolete legend of Sasquatch’.”

Hermann flinched at the direct quote. “Newton, we _agreed_ -”

“I don’t care what we agreed!” Newt screeched as he jumped up from his chair and stomped to the couch. “That was _mean_ , Hermann!”

“Oh my God, how old are you? Five?” Hermann chucked a wet dishtowel towards the small laundry closet and began scrubbing dishes with all the gentle finesse of an angry bear. “I’m perfectly entitled to give my scientific opinion on whatever article I desire-”

“ _You don’t even read this journal!”_

“Newton!” Hermann snapped, wheeling around to face the man. “Control yourself! I refuse to deal with another complaint from our neighbors because you can’t discuss your feelings at a reasonable volume!”

Sticking his head over the top of the couch, Newt rolled his eyes exaggeratedly. “Oh, look at Mr. Hermann-People-Pleaser, how positively charming-”

“Oh, I _swear_ …” Giving up on the dishes, Hermann snatched his cane from the back of one of the kitchen chairs and tromped into the living area, flopping into his favorite chair with an indistinct grunt. “Okay, Newton, I’m sorry I _voiced my own opinion_ on something you just happened to write-”

This approach apparently didn’t sit well with the biologist; Newt pushed himself to the edge of the couch, staring at Hermann with vehemence and hissing through his teeth to avoid shouting again. “Oh _shut up_ , you pretentious bastard! You actively looked for some of my work, admit it. You never read my articles, you’re a mathematician-”

“Newton, listen to me,” Hermann said quietly but with enough force to make Newt’s jaw (finally) snap shut. “I came across that article because, contrary to _your_ belief, I do actually care about what you’re doing with your life. In fact, I’ve read every article you’ve published since the end of the war.”

Newt seemed momentarily stunned. “You- You really-”

“Don’t interrupt, Newton.”

The chastised biologist made a face and sunk back into the sofa, crossing his arms over his chest and looking not unlike an ill-tempered preteen.

“I gave that review because you have to start actually thinking about what you’re publishing, Newton. You’re world-renowned now, you can’t just type up whatever pops into your head-”

“Why shouldn’t I? And I do actually think about what I’m saying, thank-”

“ _Don’t interrupt,_ ” Hermann hissed. Newt exhaled loudly, but stopped talking once again. “As I was saying, if you publish random, unproven theories with basically no science behind them, people all over the world are going to start questioning your credibility, and you won’t be able to publish anything else, you won’t get any funding for experiments and you won’t be able to get a job.”

Newton opened his mouth as if to argue, but remained silent as he gazed at Hermann. “I…I knew all that. I was just testing you.”

Hermann sighed and rolled his eyes for the umpteenth time that day. “Just…let me look over your articles before you publish them, okay? Believe it or not, I would prefer to have you employed and occupied rather than depressed and bored because no one takes you seriously.”

“You don’t take me seriously,” Newt pointed out unhelpfully. Hermann just smiled.

“No, I don’t. But that’s because I know _you_ , not just your work.”

“Is that supposed to be a compliment?” Newt mumbled as he picked up his tablet from where it had fallen beside the couch. The mathematician across the room didn’t respond.

“I’m gonna take it as one then.”

Hermann sighed. “You do that.”

**Author's Note:**

> The[ Journal of Experimental Biology](http://jeb.biologists.org/) is an actual journal, not my doing. c:


End file.
